As the Sox prepare to face the final weeks of the season, the state of their pitching staff remains extremely important. We have been seeing lately that hitting alone won't carry them. The main focus on the staff will probably be on the seemingly endless rehab of Clay Buchholz, the underachievement of Jon Lester, and the role of Jake Peavy. But there is another important member of the rotation, and his name is Ryan Dempster.
Dempster is the team's oldest starter at age 37, and the most experienced, with 16 years in the bigs. His varied career with the Marlins, Reds, Cubs, Rangers and Sox has had many ups and downs. He was twice an NL all-star, and his 17-6 mark and 2.96 ERA in 08 placed him in Cy Young contention. A starter most of his career, he spent three years as a sometime closer in Chicago with some poor teams, once relieving in 74 contests. He has a one-hitter to his credit, but also led the league in walks and earned runs and holds a record with 12 grand slams allowed, including one in postseason. His won and lost record is close to .500, and his hits/innings pitched ratio is about even.
The feeling seems to exist that Dempster is the low-man in the rotation, and will go to the bullpen when and if Buchholz returns. But the stats do not totally bear that out. Going into Sunday's action, his 6-8 mark is not great, but his ERA is only slightly higher than Lester or Peavy. He leads the team in walks, but has also struck out a good number. Dempster does not throw especially hard, but has a good variety of pitches.
There are several positives to the righthander as the season winds down. He is known as an outgoing jokester in the clubhouse, a positive in late-season pressure situations. He is also quite durable, 7 times throwing 200-plus innings. He had Tommy John surgery at age 27, and only two years later had his best campaign. Dempster's exprerience in both starting and relieving could be very helpful in September and (hopefully) in the postseason.
Ryan has also faced personal difficulties. His daughter Riley was diagnosed in 09 with a rare genetic delition disorder called DiGeorge Syndrome. Though the disease has many symptoms, Dempster says his daughter should lead a normal life, though with some effort. He is also quite active in charitable work.
I would count Ryan Dempster out He could be more than just a number 5 starter.
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